1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of thermal insulation blankets, and more particularly to thermal protection for spacecraft.
2. Background Information
Reusable space launch vehicles such as the Space Shuttle need thermal insulation to protect the vehicle from heat during reentry. Currently, flexible quilted ceramic blankets are used to cover a portion of the exterior of such vehicles for heat protection. The flexible blankets usually are on the order of a few feet in length. They are constructed of a ceramic fiber batting surrounded by a ceramic fabric cover material, which is quilted with ceramic thread to form a blanket on the order of an inch or two thick. These are typically mounted on the vehicle exterior by silicon rubber adhesive. Blankets adhered to a structure by adhesive often do not withstand high acoustic loads, on the order of 165 dB, for example. Acoustic loads of this magnitude often cause the quilting threads to break, and the batting to separate and puff up. This reduces the performance of the insulating blanket to unacceptable levels.
The blankets often must be removed and replaced for inspection and repair. The process of installing and removing the blankets is time-consuming and expensive. Turn-around time for reusable launch vehicles will be increasingly critical to their success, and the time involved in removal and replacement of insulation blankets mounted with adhesive will be an obstacle to achieving goals for turn around time for future reusable launch vehicles.
What is needed, then, is a means for quick installation and remove of flexible blankets, which requires very little skill to ensure complete and safe mounting, with minimal room for human error, and in a manner which will allow the blanket to withstand the extreme acoustic loads to which it will be subjected during launch.